This invention relates to a tape cassette, and more particularly to videotape cassette storage container pivoting and latching mechanisms.
A tape cassette storage container is used to protect a tape cassette and the tape therein while the tape cassette is not in use. A tape cassette storage container usually includes a base and a cover. The cover may be kept closed by some type of latching mechanism and may be hinged to pivot into opened or closed positions relative to the base.
More particularly, the following patents are directed to devices having latching mechanisms in which a movable catch or seal is used to lock the storage container in the closed position:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR(S) ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ 3,990,575 Egly et al. 11/9/76 4,078,657 Schurman 3/14/78 ______________________________________
Alternatively, latches are known in which a projection, located on the front wall of a cover or base and extending in a direction parallel to the cover, is inserted in a direction parallel to the plane of the base into a correspondingly shaped hole (not a recess) formed in the front wall of the base. Examples of this type of latch mechanism are shown in the following patents:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR(S) ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ 4,102,452 Sato et al. 7/25/78 4,231,474 Takahashi 11/4/80 4,363,403 Raucci Jr. et al. 12/14/82 ______________________________________
With these types of latching mechanisms, pressing the thumb against the front of the storage container in order to open the storage container may actually create pressure against the latch which may "bind" or jam the latch, thus making opening difficult.
Finally, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,071, issued to Neal et al., a latch mechanism uses a pair of keepers formed along the front and side walls for receiving in latching arrangement a continuous wall-like rib formed along the outside edge of the cover.
However, the Neal et al. '071 patent does not produce a dependable and easy to use latch. This is evidenced by the fact that a later patent to the same inventors, i.e., U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,940, discloses a similar latch to that shown in the '071 patent, but also counsels the need for an additional pair of latches comprising buttons formed on flexible hinges extending from the base which are fitted into holes in the cover. These two pair of latches make the storage container expensive and difficult to use.
There is also known in the prior art various hinges to be used with a cover and base of a tape cassette container. For example, usually a simple pair of cylindrical pins are formed in the base and are inserted into a corresponding pair of circular holes formed in the cover, or vice versa. The following U.S. patents are examples of this type of design:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR(S) ISSUE DATE ______________________________________ 3,272,325 Schoenmakers 9/13/66 3,620,361 Fugiwara et al. 11/16/71 4,378,066 Sato et al. 3/29/83 ______________________________________
The Sato et al. '066 patent also teaches the use of semicircular spacers formed at the base of each pivot pin and quarter-circular spacers formed near each hole on the cover. These spacers ensure that the walls of the cover and the base will not scrape against each other and create damaging dust when the storage container is opened and closed. In addition, since these spacers do not overlap, they limit the angle the cover can make relative to the base when the storage container is opened.
Moreover, the above patents do not teach a pivoting mechanism assuring positive positioning of the cover relative to the base while in either the opened or closed positions. That is, the pivoting mechanisms of the prior art devices are not capable of holding the storage container in the opened or closed positions, nor are they capable of preventing free swinging of the cover between the opened and closed positions.
Finally, it has been known to employ transparent covers for storage containers, such as a tape cassette container. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,338 there is employed a transparent cover for a tape cassette. However, there is not known in the prior art the combination of a clear cassette container cover or base used in combination with a reliable and easy to use pivot and/or latch mechanism.
Thus, it can be seen that known prior art tape cassette storage containers have some drawbacks. None of the known prior art devices have the novel features of the invention disclosed herein for eliminating such drawbacks, while still providing an economically manufactured tape cassette storage container.